Postpartum Diaries: 10 Weeks

Friends! It has been a week, let me tell ya. 

So, you know I saw my IBCLC last week in a desperate attempt to figure out what is going on with Mr. Mav. She agreed with me that it sounded like “lactose overload” which is caused by too much of the naturally occurring lactose in breastmilk (again this is NOT caused by dairy from cow’s milk, every human mother produces milk containing lactose).  So, our plan was to have me pump a little of my foremilk (the milk that contains higher lactose, less fat) before every feed, block feed (use the same breast multiple feeds in a row) and to add in lactase enzyme drops. She told me it could take a couple of days to work.  I originally said I was going to wait until my elimination diet was over (Monday) but I got so desperate by Thursday I decided to overnight the lactase drops from Amazon.  We started them Friday night.  He had an okay day on Saturday but Sunday was truly one of the worst days we’ve ever had and the overnight was even worse.  Just when I felt like I couldn’t take another second of it he woke up on Monday like a totally different baby!  You guys, I cried.  I was so, so excited.  He was smiling and cooing and would lay down on his playmat and just stare and roll around. I’ve never experienced a baby this happy.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  Overnight it was like everything just flipped.  

We realized he was actually sick (caught a cold from Lily) and he was still wonderful during the day.  Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.  By late afternoon Monday he was fussing again.  He was up almost all-night Monday and much of the same Tuesday and Wednesday night.  I was trying not to lose hope because he WAS sick but so was I and by Tuesday night I was just exhausted emotionally and physically.  We got through it and Wednesday during the day was a little better. The night nurse said he was up a lot still that night but Thursday (today) we saw a big change for the better again during the day!  Bedtime has almost gotten worse the last few days (literally 45+ minutes of scream crying) but we are trying to work on it.  The night nurse is here again tonight and now that Mav’s cold is almost gone I’m excited to see if he will do a little bit better AND to get a little extra sleep.

P.s. I did continue to elimination diet until Monday and so far I have added in a few fruits and vegetables but I’m holding off on the higher allergy foods (nuts, dairy, gluten, soy, shellfish) until he’s been consistently happy so I can really tell if any of them make a big difference in his temperament. 

I want to get into the improvements Mav has had & more info on lactose overload but I want to give it another week to see if it lasts!  Keep your fingers crossed for us!